The wind whistled behind him, the rhythmic thrum-thrum of leathery wings signaling that the white fool had finally caught up. Aiden shifted his gaze forward, locking onto Azure’s blue silhouette cutting through the air ahead.
Monts later, Azure banked sharply, her altitude dropping. Aiden followed suit, tucking his wings for a controlled dive.
Below them, a wide river cut through the landscape. Near its banks lay the target: a gaping maw of a cavern leading deep underground.
A squad of elite goblins stood guard at the entrance. Just like the previous outpost, these were not the ragtag runts of common folklore. They were geared for war—clad in polished iron breastplates, with muskets slung over their shoulders and heavy greatswords and axes at their hips.
Whoosh.
Aiden leveled out, his body vanishing into the canopy before gliding silently down to the forest floor.
The trees here were ancient titans, towering over a hundred feet into the air. Consequently, the underbrush was massive, a tangled ocean of ferns and thorns tall enough to hide an elephant—or in this case, three dragon wyrmlings.
Rustle. Rustle. Rustle.
Three heads—one blue, one red, one white—poked out of the dense foliage, six eyes fixing on the cavern mouth.
There were fourteen goblins in total.
Seven were standing guard, rigid and alert. Three were slumped against the rock face, asleep. The remaining four were... occupied.
Aiden’s pupils narrowed as he focused on the four goblins in the center. They were engaged in a vigorous, rhythmic activity that could only be described as "biological propagation research."
He squinted, trying to make sense of the anatomy. The elite goblins were uniformly built—thick necks, rippling muscles, grotesque features. There was absolutely no visual distinction between male and female.
His gaze drifted lower.
By the Abyss! My eyes!
They were identical. Every single component. It was like watching four potatoes mash themselves together. It was an affront to nature.
"Aiden... Aiden..." a soft, innocent voice whispered. "What are those four goblins doing?"
Bianca’s white head shuffled next to his. Her eyes were wide, sparkling with unblemished curiosity.
Aiden turned to face her. That gaze—so crystalline, so pure. She genuinely didn't know.
Am I confusing her? Does she think I'm judging her? Bianca tilted her head, confused by his silence.
Aiden sighed internally. Slowly, he draped his long red tail over her head and gently, but firmly, pressed her snout back down into the dirt.
So things simply cannot be unseen. I am doing this for your soul, sister.
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He glanced to his left.
Azure was staring unblinkingly at the grotesque display. Her blue eyes were flat, calm, and utterly devoid of reaction. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking.
This girl... Aiden shook his head ntally. She spends all her ti digging through the Dragon Inheritance. She’s probably seen so much theoretical biology and ancient draconic smut in those archives that reality bores her. She’s likely just critiquing their technique.
Tch. That wretched sister of mine only lacks practical experience.
Aiden looked back at the cave. The four goblins suddenly froze.
His muscles tensed. Spotted?
He sank lower into the bushes.
But no—the goblins rely swapped positions in a seamless, practiced rotation and resud their "research."
"What is the plan?" Azure’s low, indifferent voice ca from his left.
Aiden sank fully into the cover. Azure followed suit. Now, the three dragons lay hidden, facing one another in a small clearing within the brush.
"Fourteen targets," Aiden murmured. "Azure, can you eliminate them without alerting the tribe inside?"
Azure’s eyes flicked to the side, as if calculating. Then she looked at him with mild disdain. Has spending ti with Bianca lowered your IQ? her look seed to say.
"Impossible," she stated flatly. "They have muskets."
Aiden conceded the point. Even with Azure’s speed, taking out fourteen ard guards before a single trigger was pulled was a statistical impossibility. Still, he felt a twitch in his tail. He really wanted to smack her for that look.
I’ll save it, he thought. One day, I will deliver a brotherly beatdown she won't forget.
"Fine. We wait for nightfall," Aiden decided. "All creatures have inertia. They’ll get lazy, hungry, or tired when the sun goes down."
"Agreed."
Azure didn't waste a second. She dropped her head to the mossy earth and closed her eyes. She wasn't sleeping; she was training. She was already ntally practicing Somatic Grafting, running simulations to improve her engraving proficiency.
Efficient freak, Aiden thought. She’s probably going to try mana-engraving the mont we get back to the lair.
Azure’s consciousness drifted away, entering her mind palace. In her ntal space, a vast, endless desert stretched out. Three transparent rings materialized before her ntal avatar. Black runes began to construct themselves in the air, engraving onto the rings with precise, synchronized frequencies.
...
Aiden dropped his chin to his paws and closed his eyes as well.
Waiting was boring. He might as well browse the Dragon Inheritance. Perhaps he could find sothing... educational.
Heh heh. Strictly for academic purposes, of course. I’m definitely not looking for the "Interspecies Cultural Exchange" section.
Huh?
Bianca, the only one still looking around, tilted her head at her two comatose siblings. Were we strategizing? I feel like I participated, but also... I didn't?
...
Aiden’s consciousness dove into the Inheritance.
He opened his eyes to a vast white void. Clouds drifted beneath an invisible floor, giving the impression of standing above the sky. Before him stood the library—endless rows of bookshelves stretching into infinity.
The books were titanic, easily fifteen feet tall and twenty feet wide, designed for adult dragons, not whelps.
Aiden felt the familiar phantom throb in his skull. The sheer volu of knowledge was nauseating. How does Azure do this every day without her head exploding?
He walked up to a shelf, rearing up on his hind legs. He still barely reached the bottom row.
Ridiculously big, he grumbled.
He reached up, snagged a massive spine with his left claw, and hauled a book out.
He glanced at the Draconic title embossed on the cover.
Basic Water Runes.
Garbage. Not his elent.
He tossed the book over his shoulder. It spun in the air before magically floating back to its slot.
He grabbed another.
Fire Burst: Advancent & Engraving.
Burst magic? Useful. He flipped it open.
Densely packed runes that looked like the scribbles of a madman assaulted his brain.
So sleepy...
Damn it! A re book dares to attack my consciousness?
He threw it behind him.
He moved down the line.
Basic Ice Runes. No.
Alchemy Identification. Bore-fest.
He dug through shelf after shelf, tossing knowledge aside like trash. Finally, his claw hooked onto a thick to. He pulled it out and read the title.
A Detailed Analysis of Drow Matriarchy and Customs.
Aiden’s vertical pupils dilated.
Jackpot.
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